Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/08/2024 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HB55 | |
HB313 | |
SB147 | |
HB309 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | HB 309 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 394 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+= | HB 378 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HB 313 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 309-DELEGATION OF ROUTINE OPTOMETRY SERVICES 3:53:34 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 309, "An Act relating to the practice of optometry; and relating to the delegation of routine services of optometry." 3:54:14 PM The committee took an at-ease at 3:55 p.m. [Chair Sumner passed the gavel to Representative Wright.] 3:55:09 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, prime sponsor, presented HB 309. He said the bill is a simple update to the optometry practice to allow the delegation of certain duties to an assistant within the practice. He described the update as a necessary one to match current optometry business practices. 3:55:57 PM JAMES SEXTON, Staff, Representative Justin Ruffridge, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Ruffridge, prime sponsor, gave a PowerPoint presentation, entitled "HB 309 Optometry Practices" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. He began on slide 2, "Issue," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Optometric practices do not have current statute language to allow the Board of Examiners of Optometry to regulate delegation of routine tasks to Optometric Technicians and Assistants • Delegation of basic routine tasks are standard practice in other health professions licensed in Alaska, as well as optometric practices nationwide • Without this authority, Optometrists would be required to perform all preliminary and ancillary testing on each patient, which would greatly restrict access to care. MR. SEXTON continued to slide 3, "Other Healthcare professions in Alaska," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Professions in Alaska that have solved this problem with incorporating delegation authority include: • Medical Doctors, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Podiatry, Physician Assistants (08.64.106) • Dental (08.32.346) • Veterinary (08.98.050 (9,B)) • Pharmacy (08.80.030,(9)) • Chiropractic (08.20.168) MR. SEXTON advanced to slide 4, "Examples of routine tasks," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Initial patient medical history and reason for visit • Initial assessment of vision and current prescription verification • Blood pressure screenings and automated measurements of the eye • Ocular photography and digital imaging for review by the doctor • Assisting in medication refills • Performing peripheral vision testing for interpretation by the doctor MR. SEXTON turned to slide 5, "Current challenges," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • In the absence of the ability to delegate tasks, Optometry will be less efficient and effective at meeting the demand of patient care that exists in the state currently. • Optometry is projected to grow in the future. • Adding a logistical and financial burden to current and future Optometrists may contribute to the shortage of healthcare professionals. MR. SEXTON proceeded to slide 6, "HB 309 Impacts," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • This bill will have no impact on billing practices and will not increase costs to the patient population. • The impact of passing this bill will be to ensure that patients continue to receive appropriate and effective care supervised by licensed Optometric Physicians in Alaska. MR. SEXTON concluded on slide 7, "Support," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: The Alaska Optometric Association supports this legislative approach and action. • HB 309 brings Optometrists in line with other health related professions in Alaska. 3:59:46 PM BRADLEY CROSS, Chair, Board of Examiners in Optometry, gave invited testimony during the hearing on HB 309. He said that optometry is responsible for maintaining the eye health of all Alaskans, adding that the profession is economically beneficial, sustainable, and good for Alaska. He said that it is commonplace elsewhere in the world for technicians to perform duties to free up the time of optometrists, and that this legislation would ensure that optometrists have the backing of our state statutes when they relegate tasks to technicians and assistants in the practice. He said that the State Board of Optometry is prepared to spell out guidelines for the regulatory implementation of HB 309. 4:04:02 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how to define an agent of an optometrist. MR. CROSS said the role of "optometric technician" would be defined in regulation. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER sought to confirm that an agent would be an optometric technician, which would be defined by regulation. MR. CROSS said "what they would be allowed to do" would be defined in regulation. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how the board might draft regulations to specify an agent of optometry's role. MR. CROSS said the agent would be defined as the optometric technician and the assistant to the optometrist. Required training and oversight would also be defined. 4:05:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether optometrists are currently required to work within the practice of an ophthalmologist. MR. CROSS answered no. In addition to a follow up question from Representative Carrick, he explained that eye care provided outside the scope of optometry would not be addressed by HB 309. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, in response to Representative Carrick, he explained that an optometrist could delegate a machine- driven, routine service in a rural community to an on-site technician and analyze the results remotely with a telehealth visit. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK inquired about the restrictions on an optometrist providing remote telehealth services. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE said that is some of the impetus behind this bill, as the board has been unable to draft regulations to address that question. MR. CROSS agreed that telehealth would necessitate that an optometry licensee be supervising an optometric assistant. He noted that the board has precluded complete eye exams with determination of a refraction from being performed via telehealth. Consequently, the telehealth component for optometry would be consultation and follow up more so than ancillary testing. 4:10:15 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether there is national certification for optometric technicians. MR. CROSS answered yes, the American Optometric Association has created a program and guidelines for that certification. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether national certification should be a regulatorily defined requirement for someone to function as an optometric technician. MR. CROSS said while it would be valuable, most technicians are trained on the job so the requirement would be unnecessary. In response to a follow up question, he said passage of the bill would prevent increased costs for patients. 4:12:26 PM ELIZABETH STEVENS, Executive Director, Alaska Optometric Association (AKOA), gave invited testimony in support of HB 309, which would grant the board the authority to draft regulation regarding the delegation of routine optometric services. She said the AKOA strongly supports the bill. 4:13:44 PM DAMIEN DELZER, President-Elect, Alaska Optometric Association (AKOA), gave invited testimony in support of HB 309. He explained that HB 309 is legislation requested by the Board of Examiners in Optometry due to the statute being outdated. He said that it is industry standard for optometry practices to relegate tasks to technicians and associates, and HB 309 would bring Alaska up to speed with the rest of the country. He said the bill would would reduce demand on optometrists and free them up for consultation and treatment. It would also allow technicians to provide assistance to optometrists via statute. He emphasized the AKOA's strong support for HB 309. 4:17:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER questioned the value of using national certification as a qualifier for providing optometric services. MR. DELZER reiterated that most optometric assistance receive training on the job and would have the opportunity to sit for various levels of examinations given by the American Optometric Association to obtain additional qualifications as they progress. Ultimately, he opined that using the national certification as a prerequisite would be a barrier. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether the examinations for the national certifications occur every year or level by level. MR. DELZER said the American Optometric Association has four levels of examination for paraoptometric certification. In response to a follow up question, he confirmed that a technician who received increasing levels of certification would receive higher levels of compensation. 4:20:57 PM CHAIR WRIGHT opened public testimony on HB 309. After ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public testimony and announced that the bill would be held over.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HB 309 presentation.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309- support as of 4.724.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309 AAO Letter_AK_House Labor & Commerce.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309 fiscal note DCCED_Coprs,Businesses, Prof licensing as of 3.15.24.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB 309- Memo regarding Delegation Authority.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
HB226 Version U (CS for HLC).pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 226 |
HB226 Explanation of Changes Ver. S to Ver. U.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 226 |